After Mississippi State’s Zach Arnett went a few minutes over his weekly spot on the SEC coaches’ teleconference, the moderator jumped straight to the next guest: Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin. After a bit of silence, Kiffin’s voice came through the line.

“Sorry I was late,” Kiffin started, “Practice went over. It takes a lot of plays to try to play these (Alabama) guys.”

One of the more anticipated matchups of Week 4 includes Kiffin’s 15th-ranked Rebels (3-0) and Nick Saban’s No. 13 Crimson Tide (2-1). And when asked about the potential of facing multiple Alabama quarterbacks on Saturday afternoon, Kiffin referenced his familiarity with Saban.

He knows Saban meant it when the Tide announced Jalen Milroe as its starting quarterback. The Rebels would need to prepare for the re-anointed Milroe, a “challenging” player, per Kiffin. But when a follow-up came about defensive coordinator Pete Golding’s two-year stint with UA helping Ole Miss this weekend, Kiffin shrugged it off.

“I think that’s overblown,” Kiffin said. “Knowing the place, it doesn’t translate into winning or (Saban’s 28-3 record against former assistants) would be very different. So I think way too much is made of that.”

Saban said on Sept. 7 that his glowing record against former assistants was “misleading” and it’d be hard to maintain. Kiffin explained the strength of Alabama’s roster when sizing up how big of a challenge it will be for Ole Miss in Tuscaloosa. He said the Tide’s defensive talent is always there, but it’s “stronger” now with the ability to add a player like UAB transfer Jaylen Key.

The Rebels, like a couple of other teams nationwide, have a roster mostly comprised of transfer portal players. Kiffin did note that Ole Miss beat Alabama for five-star linebacker Suntarine Perkins in last year’s recruiting cycle. Perkins currently has seven tackles in three games with one pass breakup.

“Challenge always against Alabama on both sides, especially the defense for a lot of years. All the way back to being at Tennessee is the defensive personnel,” Kiffin said. ” … So they’re even more challenging personnel than ever.”

As Kiffin detailed the many strengths of Alabama’s defense like Dallas Turner and Trezmen Marshall, Saban has answered plenty of questions about Kiffin’s offense. In his session on the teleconference, Saban said quarterback Jaxson Dart is “throwing the ball well,” and demonstrates some dual-threat ability.

Kiffin began the week with a Sunday press conference questioning if Alabama’s defensive coordinator Kevin Steele was still calling plays — he guessed it was secondary coach Travaris Robinson. Saban denied the claim, then said Wednesday he didn’t have a reaction.

“I’m concerned about what we do with our team, our coaches and how they work together as a unit to do the best job for our players,” said Saban, “and I’m not really concerned about anything else.”

Kickoff in Bryant-Denny Stadium will be at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

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Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].